Egyptian shares rose in thin volume on Sunday, with cement companies gaining on what traders said were hopes of an imminent truce in Lebanon followed by large scale rebuilding. "Maybe the cement companies and the steel companies will be able to export quite a bit into Lebanon on the back of this peace initiative that’s going on," said Yasser Hassanein of Dynamic Securities.
Misr Cement Qena, which reported an 82 percent rise in net profit to 121 million Egyptian pounds (US$21m) in the first half of 2006 on Sunday, rose 3.6 per cent to last trade at 70.27 pounds per share. In other movement in the sector, Amreya Cement rose 5 per cent to last trade at 26.25 pounds, while South Valley Cement rose 5 percent to end at 100.50 pounds. Suez Cement rose 2.9 per cent to end at 74.75 pounds.
